High speed networks find application in various contexts, including multi-media streaming and cloud computing. High speed networks include network routers and servers, which typically include a serializer-deserializer (SerDes). A SerDes may include a serializer that converts parallel data into serial data, e.g., multi-bit data words into a single-bit data stream. In one aspect, a serializer interfaces between a media access control (MAC) layer and a physical (PHY) layer. The serializer may receive parallel input from the MAC layer and provide serial output to the PHY layer. One or more bottlenecks may occur in the conversion of parallel data to serial data. One bottleneck is the conversion of half-rate data to full-rate serial data. The bottleneck becomes more severe at higher interface speeds. Typical methods for reducing congestion are power intensive, introduce jitter, and/or impose constraints on a duty cycle of a clock. These bottlenecks that occur in data communications such as serialization need to be addressed.